One of the most popular politicians in the Netherlands said Friday the country's democracy is under threat and called for a five-year halt to non-Western immigration in the wake of the killing of a Dutch filmmaker by a suspected Muslim radical.

"We are a Dutch democratic society. We have our own norms and values," right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders told The Associated Press in an interview. "If you chose radical Islam you can leave, and if you don't leave voluntarily then we will send you away. This is the only message possible."

In his first interview with the foreign media since the slaying of filmmaker Theo van Gogh on Nov. 2, Wilders said his own life has been repeatedly threatened. He said he has begun living under state protection and has even had to stay away from his own home.

Wilders split with the free-market coalition partner Liberal Party two months ago because it backed the candidacy of predominantly Muslim Turkey for the European Union.

He formed his own conservative party, the Wilders Group, which has one seat in the 150-member parliament. But a recent poll suggested his anti-immigrant message was reverberating through the electorate, and he would win 24 seats if elections were held today -- up from 19 seats before Van Gogh's murder.

Wilders said that without swift, bold action, Islamic fundamentalism will topple the country's democratic system.

"The Netherlands has been too tolerant to intolerant people for too long," he said. "We should not import a retarded political Islamic society to our country. There is nothing to be ashamed of to say this. It's not Islam. I speak out against the facts."

In Brussels, Belgium, European Union leaders met Friday to discuss immigration, one of Europe's most pressing and sensitive issues. EU justice and interior ministers agreed to demand that new immigrants learn the language of their adopted countries and adhere to "European values" to guide them toward better integration.

Even as the number of immigrants arriving in Europe falls due to tougher policies, led by a sharp drop in the Netherlands, Wilders said closing the borders isn't enough. Newcomers should be forced to integrate.

"If in a mosque there is recruitment for jihad, it's not a house of prayer, it's a house of war. If it's not a house of prayer, it should be closed down," he said.

Wilders, known for his radical positions and peroxide-blond hair, has been a member of parliament since 1998. He was born and educated in the southern city Venlo, near the German border.

"I'm very tough on radical Islam. I have the toughest ideas on beating this problem and I'm proud of it. I say nothing wrong. I'm no racist, no anti-Islamist," he said.

Wilders and the police took the death threats more seriously following the slaying of Van Gogh, who had produced a television drama critical of how women are treated in some Muslim societies. The filmmaker was shot and stabbed to death, allegedly by a 26-year-old suspected Islamic extremist who holds Dutch and Moroccan citizenship.

The most recent threats were disclosed when two terror suspects, arrested Nov. 10 after a standoff in which several policemen were wounded by a hand grenade, were charged with threatening Wilders and other politicians, their lawyer said.

The latest video threat broadcast on the Internet -- in Dutch, with Arabic music in the background -- condemns Wilders for insulting Islam and offers the reward of paradise for his beheading.

Wilders' style and cause are reminiscent of Pim Fortuyn, a flamboyant political outsider who put immigration on the national agenda before the 2002 elections. Fortuyn was shot to death by an animal rights activist days before the vote, but major parties since have largely embraced his ideas.

Wilders said he is not opposed to mainstream Islam but is concerned by studies saying 10 percent of the Dutch Muslim population -- or about 100,000 people -- support radical Islamic views.

He cited a report by Dutch intelligence saying recruitment for jihad, or holy war, is taking place in as many as 20 mosques in the Netherlands, and said they should be closed and their imams, or preachers, arrested and deported.

"If we don't do anything ... we will lose the country that we have known for centuries. People don't want the Netherlands to be lost, and this is something that I get angry about and I am going to fight for, to keep the country Dutch," he said.

END

Q,

is it true that the Netherlands has plans to deport 26,000 muslims and is offering up to $7,200 to those that will leave voluntarily?

All the papers report this morning that the mayor of Amsterdam and a Dutch-Moroccan alderman were on the hit list of two suspected terrorists arrested in The Hague last week. The same two men were already suspected of targeting other public representatives, namely Geert Wilders and Ayan Hirsi Ali, two members of parliament known for their open criticism of Islam.

Triumph for terror The Somali-born Hirsi Ali collaborated with Theo van Gogh on a controversial film just before he was murdered two weeks ago. She is now under such tight police protection that "she can no longer do her work as a member of parliament", says the NRC HANDELSBLAD today in a commentary. The paper is deeply concerned about what this implies, because it means that the death threat addressed to her "does not only affect her but also the institution of which she is a member: the Lower House of the States General.. . Silence has been imposed on mp Hirsi Ali for sixteen days now. Every day this state of emergency continues is a triumph for terror."

Afraid The papers are full of examples of both growing unrest and of a counter-reaction to fear in the wake of recent developments in this country. We read in the VOLKSKRANT, for example, that there has been "a substantial increase" in the number of calls to an anonymous phone-in line for reporting suspected crimes and tips about "terrorists", weapons, or suspicious situations. At the same time we read of an explosion in calls to centers for reporting discrimination. The TELEGRAAF interviews the moderate spokesman of the Moroccan Mosques of Amsterdam and says, "Amsterdam Moslems are as afraid of extremists in their own community as they are of their non-believing fellow Amsterdammers".

END

SF

Deeman2

11-22-2004, 06:35 AM

Give it about 15 years and the Muslim majority in Holland will be deporting the Dutch! All while they simply let it happen.

Q, better get those wooden shoes packed!

Deeman
an Infidel from way back.....

Qtec

11-24-2004, 06:27 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Q,

is it true that the Netherlands has plans to deport 26,000 muslims and is offering up to $7,200 to those that will leave voluntarily?

SF
<hr /></blockquote>

It wouldnt surprise me! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Q

Qtec

11-24-2004, 06:33 AM

Are you willing to take in a Dutch refugee? /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I dont eat much and I can help you with your game! /ccboard/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you can play , maybe we could hustle some. /ccboard/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/blush.gif /ccboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

BTW, the wooden shoes- they are called clogs.

Q

Qtec

11-24-2004, 06:56 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Triumph for terror
The Somali-born Hirsi Ali collaborated with Theo van Gogh on a controversial film just before he was murdered two weeks ago. She is now under such tight police protection that "she can no longer do her work as a member of parliament", says the NRC HANDELSBLAD today in a commentary. The paper is deeply concerned about what this implies, because it means that the death threat addressed to her "does not only affect her but also the institution of which she is a member: the Lower House of the States General.. . Silence has been imposed on mp Hirsi Ali for sixteen days now. Every day this state of emergency continues is a triumph for terror."
<hr /></blockquote>

Silence has NOT ben imposed! I think anyone would be in a stste of shock if a close friend was shot 4 times, had his throat slit in broad daylight and had a dagger in his body with a note pinned to it ,threatening your own life!

Its not just the fact that he was murdered, its the brutal manner in which it was done that adds fuel to the fire.

is it true that the Netherlands has plans to deport 26,000 muslims and is offering up to $7,200 to those that will leave voluntarily?

SF
<hr /></blockquote>

How can the Dutch government justify deporting 26,000 Muslims?

Barbara

It wouldnt surprise me! /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Q <hr /></blockquote>

Candyman

11-24-2004, 08:57 AM

This is just my opinion, but in a democracy the majority of the people rule or they elect a representative. It is just like a giant social club. If you have someone in the club causing trouble, you can leave them in the club and deal with it, or you can kick them out. Hosta luago baby. We aren't dealing with your crap. A little cut may not look like much, but if you don't deal with it, it can get infected. These radical muslims are infections and I agree they are taking appropriate measures.